Surprising feelings
by Gabriela Dias
Summary: AU Christmas OQ Story! Young OutlawQueen, discovering they have feelings for each other. It'll have more than 1 chapter, but no more than 3.
1. Chapter 1

**A small Christmas OQ story for y'all! I hope you like it!**

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She noticed Storybrooke's streets covered in white with snow as she looked down to the gift she was holding in her hands and headed to one secret special spot in the middle of the forest. She had never been this nervous before.

She has always loved and cherished Christmas's time. Some people would even go beyond as to say she's kinda obsessed with it. She wholeheartedly believed Christmas wasn't a season, but a feeling. Something about this time of the year was always magical. It always made her feel like she's exactly where she's supposed to be, giving her a break from feeling like a fish out of water like she sometimes felt. Christmas songs playing everywhere (on the radio, on commercials in televisions, and in many other places), Christmas ornaments on display in several stores, and the world just seemed one big neighborhood.

Growing up in a town like Storybrooke, in Maine, it taught her how to face the cold and the things she could do to warm up. She learned that things like fleece glove, arm warmers and scarf actually weren't useless and they did help a lot in the winter.

But this year… she was not being able to feel the joy of this fabulous season. Today, she was not even being able to feel the cold. She was wearing pants, boots and just one long sleeved black blouse and she was okay. And it was making 30ºF outside. But giving how apprehensive and agitated she was feeling, the weather was going unnoticed by her.

And the reason of that, of her distress, had a face and a name. A certain blonde, blue eyed man with deep addicted dimples. Robin of Locksley. Her best friend. The man who she was unconditionally in love with, but she did not have courage to tell him yet about it.

Just to make things worse, she was going to have to leave. She was finishing high school, and she was going to move to New York. It was her dream to go to NYU since she was a little girl, and she knew she was going to miss Robin, but she also knew that giving up her dream for someone would only make her resent that person.

She already told him about her decision, and he was not surprised. If her talks about that university and the flyers she had in her bedroom were any indication, he knew she was going to leave sooner or later. And being the awesome and selfless man he was, he supported her and tried to act like he was happy but she could see that deep down he was suffering. After she told him she was for sure going to NYC, they didn't touch in the subject again.

She got closer to the log they named as theirs; hidden between the shrubs, her heart beats increasing with each step she took. She took the shrubs out of the way, marveling at how familiar that movement felt to her, and saw him already sitting in the log. Waiting for her.

It felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest, and forget it – she was not just feeling butterflies in her stomach. She was feeling the whole damn zoo.

He heard her coming and turned to face her, a smile showing on his face.

"Hi", he greeted, his dimples spreading across his face.

"Hi", she replied and leaned in to hug him.

If she hugged him a little bit longer than normal and if she discreetly let her nose wanders around his skin to feel his smell, who could really blame her?

"No no, no snooping!" he told her when he saw her trying to see what was inside his gift. "Every year you do this and every year I say the same thing" he laughed and she laughed too, and he didn't take his arms around her.

They had known each other since they were in kindergarten, and when they got older, they created a small routine for Christmas. Every year, when it was missing just one more week for that joyful event, they both headed to that same spot and traded gifts.

This year, it was extremely hard for her to pick a gift for him. Because what do you give to someone you know you'll spent a lot of time without seeing them? What do you give to someone you have sort of a limited time to see them?

"Well, in all fairness, you never give me not even a hint of what you're going to give me. You can't blame a girl for being curious. We're naturally curious", she argued.

"And in all fairness, you're even more curious them most of the girls."

"Shut up, you love me." the words were out before she realized what she said.

She looked to his face to see his reaction, and his smile widened, and he tightened his hold on her.

"That I do."

She blushed, and she didn't push any further. She didn't ask if he loved her in the romantic sense too, even though she was dying to know. It wouldn't do any good for them to let their feelings out in the open now. That silly voice inside her head kept telling her, _you'll have to leave eventually._

Besides, there was also that strong feeling of never being enough. Of telling Robin about her feelings, but finding out he doesn't feel the same. She wanted to be strong, but she wasn't sure she would be able to live after being rejected by him.

Robin saw how impatient she was, and gave her the gift he bought for her. She opened it, and when she saw what it was, her mouth opened in shook. It was a plane ticket to New York, or better saying, a one-way ticket. A ticket with Robin's name in it.

"Robin, what's going on?" she asked, confused and wide eyed.

"I can't lose you, Regina. I want to go to New York with you, and go to college there."

"Robin, you can't give up your dreams because of me, we've talked about that", she said exasperated.

"My dream is to be wherever you're, Regina." he said softly and took her hands in his. "And I'm not giving up my dreams. Not really. I can do back there what I want to do. I admit I was afraid of leaving my parents, and that's what was holding me back. But my mother assured me that she was going to be fine. I can become a teacher there. I don't have to stay here for that. I already applied to some of the universities there, and… I got in."

She started deep into his eyes, trying to formulate something to say, but she was at loss for words.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I do need to say something else. I feel like… I might regret if I don't say it now." he caressed her chin and made sure she was looking right at him. "I don't just love you; I'm in love with every single part of you, Regina."

If she thought her heart was beating fast before, it was never compared to the way it was beating after she heard those words. Was she dreaming? Was the man she loved confessing he loved her as well? Was the love she felt for him reciprocal?

"Are you serious, Robin?" her voice gave away the happiness she was feeling.

"I have never been more serious in my entire life, Regina. I don't know if you feel the same, but even if you don't, I don't want to be far away from you and I promise I'll respect you. You're an incredible person. And if you do feel the same, we could…"

Regina stopped him in the middle of the sentence. She grabbed the collar of the jacket he was using, and pushed him to her. Their mouths collided, and it seemed as if the world were fitting, piece by piece, as were their mouths.

It just seemed so right. And delicious.

Robin was paralyzed for a few seconds, but soon he returned the kiss. They stopped to catch some air, and he could see the vulnerability showing on Regina's face. He knew her, and he knew she didn't let that side of her show to everyone. The fact that she trusted him enough to let him see that part of her, spoke volumes to him. It made him fall even harder for her.

He tipped her face to his, traced her lovely features with his eyes. Her smooth long dark hair. Her bright smile. Her shining coffe brown eyes, that had a special sparkle in in. Everything about her was beautiful, especially the inside. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her as close as humanly possible. She willing parted her lips, welcoming, nay, urging his invasion. And he did not disappoint. He explored every bit of it, taking his time swirling his tongue over hers and then letting his tongue trace the shape of her lips. He heard her moan and it only encouraged him to keep going.

He sucked at her bottom lip, and she moaned louder, he was loving to learn every little thing that excited her. A little later they stopped kissing due to the lack of air, and she pulled back just a little to look at his face.

"I'm in love with you too, Robin. I have been for a while." she said quietly but firm.

The alluring dimples showed on his face and he leaned in to give a peck on her lips. She hid her smiling face in the crook of his neck and he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"There's something else inside where the plane ticket was." he whispered and she looked back at him, surprised.

She unwilling disentangled herself from him and went after the plane ticket to see what else was there too. She took the small package in her hands and took it with her to the log, where Robin was sitting. She sat beside him, and as she was moving to open her gift, she finally started to feel the cold and she was unable to contain the shiver she felt.

Robin noticed it, and immediately took out the thick coat he was wearing and put it around her. Regina felt touched with the gesture and thanked him. She loved that not only she already felt warmer, but also that now she felt surrounded by Robin's scent. And his scent had a calming effect on her.

She took a deep breath and opened her gift, discovering what it was. A silver necklace with a heart key pendant.

"I'm giving you the key to my heart, my love." Robin's voice echoed through the quietness of the woods. "It's yours now."

She felt tears pricking in the corner of her eyes, and she was not able to hold them back. She let them fall freely, just as free as it was her spirit when she was with him.

She leaned forward and hugged him, trying to show in that warm hug how grateful she was to have him in her life.

"And now that you have my heart, I fully intend on stealing yours." she heard him say playfully.

She looked up to him with an indignant smile.

"You can't steal something that's been given to you."

He didn't have a reply to that. He just leaned in and kissed her again. And while they kissed, Regina couldn't help but think _"Lucky I'm in love with my best friend"._ And she knew whatever they were going to face next; they were going to do it _together_.

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 **There'll be more. I haven't decided yet if I'll write 2 more chapters, or just 1. We'll see. I hope you like this little story as much as I loved writing it. I'm inlovewithlanap in twitter ❤**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter! I hope you'll like it!**

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Regina pressed tightly the coat around her body as she sat in that same old log. So much had changed for the past 7 years, but so much stayed the same. Her feelings for Robin, for example, didn't change and it did not decrease. On the contrary, it only grew stronger.

But destiny placed obstacles in their way, as it often does. She stared at the gift she had in her hands, wondering if he was going to remember about their little tradition. Wondering if he was going to come. As she waited for him, a small movie about what happened in their lives started to play inside her head.

They went for the same college (but different classes), and initially, they lived a part. It was still very soon in the relationship and they were still very young. When the third year of college begun, they moved in together, in a nice apartment not too far away from college.

And all was fine for some subsequent years. But soon, they had bills to pay, real life started to kick in. And a few months ago, Regina hit rock bottom. Her father died, and to say she wasn't handling well was an understatement. Even without noticing, she tried to push away everyone she loved. Including Robin. To Robin's credit, he didn't leave the town and stayed there, because of her. He tried to stay in touch as much as she would allow, sometimes he pushed exactly when she needed it but he was also giving her the space she asked.

As the movie kept playing in her head, she heard the shrubs beside her and she turned around just in time to see Robin appearing.

He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but whisper "You remembered."

"Of course I did, my love."

There was an awkward moment when he leaned in and he didn't really know where to kiss her. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to kiss her on the lips, but he didn't know where their relationship truly stand and he wanted to respect her. So he settled for just kiss on her forehead instead.

She started to feel bad for him, to make him feel so confused, to make him wonder if they were or not a couple anymore. And she knew it was her fault, she didn't make things perfectly clear.

"Robin, I feel like I owe you an explanation." she took a breath and looked at him as she started talking. "My feelings for you are still very real and intense. But we were in a difficult place before, we were fighting a lot, we were trying to stabilize ourselves financially, and then my dad died. It made question everything. It made me return to that time when we were younger, just finishing high school and I was sad I was going to have to stay away from you. In that winter, Robin, I was such a mess. I was not being able to feel the Christmas vibe, and I was so desperate to feel it that I watched one Christmas movie after the other. I can't go back to that, Robin. I can't. I'm done pushing people away; I'm done feeling sorry for myself."

Robin sighed contently and then moved closer to her, giving her a proper kiss on the lips. He felt like he started breathing again. The time they spent apart felt like hell to him, but it also reminded him how much he loved her.

Their foreheads touched as they heavily breathe, just like the old times. To her, it felt so good to be in her safe place to land.

"My love," he whispered with his eyes closed. "I love you much."

"I love you too," she said, smiling from ear to ear. But she couldn't help but tease him. "But don't think I forget about Marian, however."

"Is your favorite Christmas movie still it's a wonderful life?"

"Yes, and this is not relevant to this conversation." she snapped.

"Donna Reed is spectacular in that one", he said with dreaming eyes, pretending like he was thinking about that woman.

"Awesome, of course you would just point out about her beauty and not care about the beautiful lesson of the movie."

"Hey, I did not say anything about her beauty," he surrounded, with both hands in the air. "You know I'm not that type of man. I'd rather see what's in the inside. And that movie really _is_ important. I mean, it's not unusual for someone to think the world would be better without them. The movie basically shows that no matter how insignificant we think we are, somehow, without noticing it, we did make a difference on someone's life."

"Stop being such a poet t and charming, I'm trying to stay mad at you." she said, trying to stay serious but failing.

Robin smiled.

"I know you know nothing really happened between me and Marian. You wouldn't be here otherwise." he said, and she thought, _damn him for knowing me so well!_ "But I'm sorry if that maybe helped you to feel worse." It did seem just like him to start blaming himself for this; she thought again as she shook her head. "I know you were suffering, and you shouldn't have to explain yourself to me. You were dealing with a lot. And starting a life together wasn't as easy as we thought it would be, but it never is. And I'm willing to try it again with you."

She didn't say anything. Just leaned in and hugged him as tight as she could, muttering in his ears "I'd love nothing more than starting a life with you again."

Even thought she couldn't see, she felt his smile as he planted a kiss on her hair.

In the next day, he said he had a surprise for her. He drove them to the main mall of Storybrooke, and once the car was parked, he opened the door for her and walked them to a nearby location. At some point, he asked her to close her eyes, and she felt excitement creeping in down her stomach. With her eyes closed, he started to walk them, carefully, forward and forward until he stopped. And asked her to open her eyes.

When she did, her chin dropped. A small ice rink was right there in front of her, and she had never seen it before. Not in that place, she realized as she looked around.

"Oh my god," she said as she realized what was going on. "You built me an ice rink!"

She felt tears perking in the corner of her eyes, and she couldn't bring herself to stop it.

"I did," he admitted. "Though I had some help. I couldn't have done it without David and Killian. I don't want you to have trouble on finding the Christmas vibe ever again." he smiled and lifted his arms to wipe her tears.

She suddenly leaned forward and hugged him. Then she kissed his cheek, then his nose and lastly, his lips. He laughed, happy to see her so happy, and his laugh soothed her. It was her favorite sound.

When they were done with the kissing, he pointed to two rollerblades on the floor, waiting for them. Regina didn't think twice and put them on, and he did the same.

He took a hold of her hand and brought them inside the ice rink. He took a remote control out of his pocket, and when he clicked on it, a speaker started to play It's a wonderful life's soundtrack. They did the weird happy choreography of Buffalo Gal, followed by Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. As they slowly slid through the ice rink, with his arms around her, Regina thought life couldn't be better.

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 **Sooo..? Please tell me your thoughts. I'm sorry this chapter was a bit shorter. I'll post chapter 3 (the last one) Saturday or on Sunday**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the last chapter! Enjoy!**

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Regina had to admit life was good. She could not possibly have asked for a better husband, or better sons, she thought as she walked hand in hand with Robin in the streets of Storybrooke. It was all covered with snow, as it usually was in this time of the year. Their sons, Henry and Roland, were walking in front of them, occasionally holding a little bit of snow from the ground and throwing it at each other as they laughed happily.

When they passed through the ice cream shop, Roland turned to their parents and asked with beaming and pleading eyes, "Can we get ice cream now momma?"

Regina fought the urge to say yes. She learned how to resist that look with her older son, Henry. Now, no matter how cute and sweet Roland looked with her deep dimples, it didn't really work on her.

She bent down at his eyes level, gently taking a hold if his little chin.

"Sweetheart, it's getting closer to dinner time, and its cold. I don't think ice cream it's a good idea now. I can make us all chocolate chip cookies when we get home though, how does that sound?"

Roland agreed without thinking twice, he was a big fan of Regina's cookies and his desire for ice cream was quickly forgotten.

The brunette laid her head on her husband's shoulder as they passed through Storybrooke's school , through Grannys and finally arrived at their destination: A store that had Christmas ornaments to sell.

They already had a beautiful Christmas tree and some Christmas ornaments, but this year they decided they needed more.

They got inside the store, feeling its warmth embracing them.

"Hey, what's this?" Roland asked, pointing at mistletoe.

Robin smirked and leaned down.

"This is called mistletoe, my boy." Robin started to explain. "For centuries, mistletoe has been considered a plant that increases life and fertility. It's a symbol of vivacity, since it remained green while other plants were bare during winter. Millions of Americans and Europeans hang a sprig of it in their doorways during the holiday season. According to custom, if a woman is caught standing under the mistletoe, a man may kiss her."

Roland frowned and was quiet for a few seconds, trying to understand what he had just being told, and they his face lighted up.

"That's so cool! That's the reason there's always one suspended at the doors, everywhere I go!"

"Indeed." Robin smiled and stroked Roland's hair as the little man moved and got interested in something else.

Robin started to put many types of mistletoe inside their cart, and Regina rolled her eyes when she saw that.

"You just love to have an excuse to kiss me."

Robin grinned, not even bothering to deny it. He placed the last mistletoe that was in his hands inside their cart and looked at Regina with a smug look on his face.

"Guilty" he admitted, as he approached her. "But I don't really need a reason to. You're my best friend, my lover, my wife. My everything."

Regina blushed, staring at her husband with teary eyes.

He leaned forward, tracing her loving features

With his thumb, he traced her loving features. Then he leaned forward, giving her a wet kiss on her lips. He tried hard to keep the kiss innocent, giving the fact they were in a public place. His kiss left her wanting more, and she complained.

"Tonight, my love. Tonight." he winked and she felt her legs going all jelly.

Why couldn't "tonight" hurry the hell up? Then she sighed and nodded, reminding herself she was not a love sick teenager as she often felt with Robin, she was a mother and she had responsibilities. It didn't matter if Robin, even after so many years of marriage, made her fall in love with him every single day, it didn't matter if they still went on dates, it didn't matter if they still kept that sparkle alive, and it didn't matter if with him she always felt like a teenager. They were grownups now.

And that promise of "tonight" was alive, and she was going to remind Robin of it. Not that she thought she would need to do that. She could hold herself together for a few more hours.

They paid for everything they bought and went outside, passing through Gold's shop and seeing that big Christmas tree in the middle of the main street, in front of the Clock Tower.

Every residences of Storybrooke placed an ornament in there, and it flawless.

"Mom," Henry asked, "can we go look closer the Christmas tree, just for a few minutes? We went to see which ornaments are new."

"Of course, honey." she smiled and the boys stated to run towards the tree's direction.

She walked in a slower pace towards the tree, her arms crossed with Robin's. They stopped beside something Roland had placed there a few weeks ago and she stared at it again.

It was a childish pretty drawing of his family. Robin and Regina standing side by side beside a Christmas tree, Roland and Henry in front of them. To Regina, the best part was the way he signed. _"This is my family, and we're so happy. I hope everyone can be as happy as we are. Merry Christmas! Love, Roland."_

She smiled and laid her head on Robin's shoulder, feelings of happiness and gratitude taking over her.

"I fell in love with the way you look at me, spoke to me, touched me without using your hands, and left me breathless but full of life." Robin whispered, making Regina look at him. "I'm so proud of everything we accomplished together, I'm so thankful for how great we're for each other. I cannot imagine a better life than the one we have. Regina Mills," he said as he kneeled down, not caring if the coldness of the snow on ground was hurting his knees. "Would you give me the honor to marry me again? Would you give me the honor to renew our vows?"

She got on her knees too to get face to face with him as tears fell, and she mouthed a firm "yes" as she leaned in to join his lips with hers. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer and prolonging the sweet kiss. And she felt in home. He was her home.

When they got up and opened their eyes, they saw their kids running towards them.

"What happened?" Henry asked, sensing that something might have happened.

"I just proposed to your mother again, and she said yes. We'll renew our vows." Robin said, smiling all the while.

"Yaayy" Henry and Roland shouted together.

Regina smiled happily, and they headed home. They finished decorating their tree and their house, Regina putting the final touch: Christmas stockings with their names embroidered in it hanging upon the fireplace.

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 **Honestly, what's Christmas without a little (or maybe a lot of) fluff? Hehe. It was so sweet and amazing writing this. I hope you liked it, and please let me know your thoughts.**

 **Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on your troubles will be out of sight, yeah ❤**


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